cultural heritage

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St. Christopher

Hail Brave hearts

The seas are rising and the crossing is dangerous. The water swells and ripples. The current is too strong and the rapids are too long, the danger of the crossing is too great for our skills. Save us! Or we shall perish. Be the strong and be the mighty, be the back that we can cling to, be our arms that plow the water, be our legs that withstand the current. Be our strength, be our courage, be our transport across the torrent. Hail to you, oh great Saint Christopher, patron saint of the traveler.

We are weary, tired and weak, you are the strong, give us your hand. You are strong, powerful and mighty, we are small, weak and puny. Help us with your bravery and the powerful strength of your body. Lucky are we to meet your acquaintance, the sight of such an enormous man. Courage and kindness to help these strangers, who are so desolate that they need his hand.

The crossing is difficult, the child is too heavy, all of the weight of the world on his back. This is the Christ Child the Redeemer of history, the merciful, the wondrous child. A small load, but so heavy, he carries our weighty sins. I am small but you are mighty, St Christopher, carry me.

Carry me across the turbulent oceans, carry me across the perilous land, carry me across the arid desert, deliver me home, by your strong hands. St Christopher we plead to you, save us, by your mighty strength. We are the travelers who need your company, your support, your superiority. we are the travelers who will perish without your generosity. Hail, St, Christopher save us! We know you can.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Christopher

For centuries you have saved us, with your mighty, muscular build. Save us always, oh great and mighty one, our adventures are still perilous. Take us across the swelling ocean, take us to our home in this brave new land. Save us in our journey, as we cross the turbulent sea, save us in our travel to this new country. You are the mighty, you are the strong, we are the week who depend upon you. Support us in the grand adventure, carry us across the seas. Stay with us while we explore this wild, untamed new land.

Hail to you oh St, Christopher, we raise your medal high. You have been so much to us, and to you, we are meerly passersby.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

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Merry Christmas

Hail You Awesome Human

The mighty is born. Now sing all of you in praises, for peace, love and everlasting kindness, for joy and merriment and laughter. This is the day of our saviour. The message is clear.Joy to the world, peace on Earth, love one another. It is with gladness that we celebrate this special day. A day of joy, of goodwill, of feasting, caring and sharing. The wisemen bring their gifts and so do we. Celebrate the love that is in us and all around us. Joy to the world.

In a time of darkness, a light shines. Prayers for the people, to overcome their fears. Fear of darkness, let their be light. Fear of loneliness, poverty, starvation, homelessness and despair. Gather together with your families and friends, your neighbors and colleagues, your aquaintenances and fellows. Don’t be strangers to the world. On this fine day, the feast is prepared. Rest, relaxation, comfort and sharing. On this fine day, we find peace. Joy and love, good will towards our fellow man. On this fine day, we find love.

Our instructions are simple, but immense. Oh come all yeah faithful, gather round the Christ Child. Bring your joy and your sorrow, bring your laughter and your tears. Here is a message of great importance. Cast aside your doubts, cast aside your fears. Listen to the message. A child is born, he will bring us peace. He will rise above the obstacle of defeat. Listen to his message, oh great and mighty, or small and lowly, for on this day we find peace.

Save us, oh great savoir. On this fine Christmas Day, may peace, love and goodwill, be in your hearts and minds and may the light of this day, bring joy to all of you, throughout the world.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

December 25, 2019

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Christmas in the Country

Hail You Awesome Human

The night is bright with stars so shiny, it is the time of Christmas Eve. The winter snow is deep and crisp, white and bright and full of it’s own delight. Christmas and winter are filling our lives. Fun in the snow and fun in the humanity of the season. Fill our lives with joy and celebration, fill our hearts with gladness and peace. Love for one another, joy to all of humanity, the child will soon be born.

Bless this season, all you fine people, fill your lives with joy. A baby will soon be born, bless the baby boy.

The hardship of the daily toil is sometimes overwhelming and dreary. Daily life can be difficult, tiresome and weary. Some are rich, some are poor, some are weak and some are far away. Now is a time for Christian giving, feasting and sharing and exchanging gifts. The tradition of family, friends and strangers, all connected to a child. Save us! Praises to you oh holy child. Save us!

Bring our loved ones to us, make their travels safe. Long journeys homeward, to our family to share Christmas Day. A tradition of joy that we celebrate with the world. Home for the holidays, all you Christian people. Celebrate the joy that this fine season brings.

The dead of winter for holiday delight. It’s perfect. Cold and wintry is the night with the fresh snow in the morning to greet us. There is nothing better than this season. Joy and caroling, Christmas is beautiful. A tradition of compassion, charity, giving, and friendship. The fabulous tradition of caring. Love one another, peace on Earth, goodwill towards your fellow man. May the blessings of the season fill your hearts with joy and kindness and be faithful to you throughout the year.

It is with great joy that we sing our songs, with duty and dedication that we donate our gifts of charity to the poor. Love eternally, love everlasting, that is the message of this baby boy. Jesus will soon be born, he rises again. From a birth in a manger to be king of our lives. A triumph for humanity, for the spirit of mankind. Rise in freedom, all of you fine people, shed your despair. Cheer and praises, the holy night is near.

Soon the wanderings of the spirit will end, soon the angels will sing, soon the stable will call us to rest, soon will be born, a king. Soon the darkness will reveal a light, soon the night will end, soon the witnesses of the glorious sight will be called, on this Holy Night.

A tradition of singing, of baking and feasting, a holiday most high. Gift giving and memories, the wisemen stopped by. Oh wise are we, to continue this tradition, in memory of a baby, so calm and bright. Such a wonderful gift, oh Holy Night. Oh Holy Night. Soon a child will be born.

The hardship of the colony, the death and despair that was endured, but strive oh Canada, your wealth and destiny will come. Oh homesteaders of yesterday, with toil and work and strife. It still is Christmas to all, regardless of where you are in life. In living the pioneer struggles, but the holiday looms in our minds. Yes, you must have Christmas, not just in your dreams. The holiday is for everyone, enjoy it before it passes. The festive season is with us, with fun and sharing and gifts. Laugh and sing, oh lucky humans, for the joy that this holiday season brings.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

December 23, 2019

Count yourself in
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Count yourself in

Greetings, Brave hearts

Cast away, you awesome human, into the lands of the great wild. Set your spirits free on the winds of change. Take up the challenge and smile. Drift and sail to the land of plenty, to a world of wonder, work and toil. Lift your hearts to the glory of your nation, to build a place, for freedoms to soar. Counting on your courage, your skills and your character, build a colony, for your survival.

Build it and they will come.

From a small outpost of housing along the shores of the St. Lawrence to a stronghold of prosperity, build it, and they will come.

Come to a dream of adventurers delight! A peasants chance to gain a new life. Hardship and toil. But hardship and toil is the life that is cast already. There is promise in this new land. A promise of new newness, of life reserected, a new fulfillment, paths of discovery. A chance for the almighty human. Find yourself, whoever you are. Come brave hearts, to this grand adventure. Some of you will rise.

And so they built it and it was splendid, with all of the conveniences, even a hospital. Carved from the forest to house the daring. You are special. Small but mighty. A fort on the river. Come, you daring ones, to the life of this awesome adventure. There is nothing more important than this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel-Dieu_de_Qu%C3%A9bec

To retail and commerce, to hospitals and care wards, to churches and politics, to inventions and furs. To the stalwarts of history, who chose this wild place, to adventure and explore, to bargain and negotiate, to be a new person in a new world. Different from who you were before. New rules, new prospects, new education, new friends, new work, new world, new life, new you. All a change from who you were to who you will be, in this grand new place. Will you be a linguistic and speak many languages, or write fabulous novels of this rare time? Will you create your own folk lore and pass on the history, or dwell in the music of this new time? Dancing to the tune of this new drummer. Will instruments be your past time, or stitching clothing to sell? Will you be a nurse or a Florence Nightingale? A teacher of school, or of special crafts. Something new is suddenly waiting for you. Be daring. The adventure of you life is now.

https://aleteia.org/2019/01/24/this-augustinian-monastery-keeps-its-culture-alive-with-hotel-and-wellness-spa/
https://aleteia.org/2019/01/24/this-augustinian-monastery-keeps-its-culture-alive-with-hotel-and-wellness-spa/

There are needs, of course, and these always beckon. Hurry to our side. Listen and watch and be attentive, seek and you will find. If need becomes invention, then the motherlode is near. Be creative, patient and caring, your good brains are magnificent here. That strong mind, that willing courage, that daring escape to a new world. Challenges and inspiration, motivation and cure. How will we survive here? This land is for the brave, the strong, the creative, the opportunist. Those that seek survival in a world of change.

Come to this change, to this awesome challenge. Come to this land of newness and new life. You are carved in the history of a country in the making. Joy and sorrow, life and laughter, bold and brilliant, this land is for you.

written by Dr, Louise Hayes

March 25, 2019

Here Comes the Morning Light
by

Here Comes the Morning Light

Back to our roots, way into the past, a cabin in the woods, is the home all of us would seek.  A special place, small and cozy, wood burning stoves and privacy.  A retreat.  To live out on the land, to harvest crops, to drink from the river, to splash in the pool, counting the geese as they fly overhead, listening to the songs of the nesting birds.  Sharing the planet with nature.

The bright stars twinkle, the moon comes out, the flood of moonlight fills the path.  A heavenly band of celestial white, winds it’s way across the night.  Warm and gentle, the night breezes pass, bringing with them the scent of  fragrant lilac blossoms, close by.  Earth and night, warmth and fragrance, the delicate soothing quiet.  The songs of night are different to hear, the chirping chorus of frogs, toads and crickets.  Songs of the swamp, the marsh, the pond, all in their own beat and tune, all an orchestra of night song.

Oh sleepy dreams of castaways, aboard your own steered yacht.  The chorus of the lively night, to dream and dance upon.

Our own small world of escape to the land, to build that piece of a dream.  To dip your feet from the end of the dock, to splash and learn to swim.  The cottage on a lake of dreams, with fresh, clean water in which to swim.  Back to the land, from where we once were, with cabins in the forest, and the overpowering allure of fur.

Still the sounds of the city surround us in our sleep, while light is cast from lampposts and stars stay hidden in the dark.  The chorus of the evening is street traffic, the occasional voice or barking dog.  Far from the stillness and quiet of the evening chorus of frogs.

Leave your cozy nests of slumber, wander out into the light.  To capture that great moment, when the daylight enters the night.  A changing world in which to view, a captured moment of rest.  These are the times of the morning, when daybreak rises, that  the world is at it’s best.  So sleepy heads, don’t nod off, as day casts the night away.  Some of your finest adventures, start at the break of day.

The city still sleeps as the world renews itself, awakening with the morning sun.  Drinking tea in that splash of splendor, as color comes with the sun.  That moment, when the night fades and darkness becomes light, the world changes from the black and shade of night, to the brilliant colors of the pallet, with the dawn of new daylight.   Hearing the songs of rising songbirds, chirping and laughing together.  A fine new day of summertime, bring on the new adventure.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

June 26, 2018

The Mighty River Flows
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The Mighty River Flows

Hail Brave hearts

Yes, it’s here, the spring has arrived, in snowy, blustery style,  In like a lion, with  heavy snow falls, March has ended the winter with a cold snap, that keeps us bundled up and happy.  Of course, the summer will eventually come, but now the trails are white.  The forest floor is covered, a late spring, with no drought in sight.

The itch is on, to turn the seasons, pull out the canoe and test the current.  Ice flows passing with the water as the melting winter turns to spring.  Catch us in our history, as we wave farewell to winter, the icy highways turn to melt waters and the dangerous ice flows temp.  No  more the sleighs to speed us along the slippery, white rivers, now it’s canoes and boats and water craft, to take our time away.

Go back, fine fellows, to days gone by, to times of yesteryear.  To the fur trade and the brave at heart the times of the voyageur.  A dangerous time of year, this is, when winter turns to spring.  The trails are wet, the rivers are thin ice and the progress becomes slow.  Take a nap and wait a week, a well deserved holiday.  The harshness of this difficult time, will melt the winter away.  Soon the canoe will be laden, with supplies to take inland.  To visit with the natives and to find a brand new land.  Off come the winter fur coats, hats and mitts are stored.  Onto another adventure, to the watery highways of this world.

A well traveled route, the St. Lawrence, filled with Coureur de Bois.  One of the most dangerous occupations of that lifetime, to travel, explore and trade in the great unknown wild.

http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca/rpcq/detail.do?methode=consulter&id=25887&type=pge     Trois Riviers, Quebec

The canoes are large enough, they carry several men.  All trained and skilled in many ways, to tackle the obstacle at hand.  Come from far away, in European style, to make a living the hard way, adventure, in the Canadian wild.  A fearsome, mighty river, the St. Lawrence is cracking up.  Pretty soon, it will be show time, pack your bags and liven up.  No more naps or holidays, the spring torrents are flooding.  It’s an adventure too dangerous for us,  spring break up is not even for the daring.  Icy flows and chilly woes, we’ll wait for another day.  This is not the best of times, for watery, river play.

But if you were an itchy voyageur, with bills at home to pay, perhaps the tempting season, would  cast him adrift anyway.

A lovely camping trip, with lakes and rivers to follow, the Canadian rivers of highway, still bind us to our past.  Traditions of camping and canoeing, following well traveled routes.  Today, we love this great wild land and praise the nations splendor.  Our ancestors did a very fine job, of protecting and implementing the heritage that we covet today.  A land of unspoiled wonder, with historical routes to travel.  This is our fine country we still travel in style.  From winter sleigh to summer canoe, the adventure has never left us.

written by Dr.  Louise Hayes

April 18, 2018

Northern Ontario Canoe Trip,  The Nat River

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6ie5jptrgY
How The West Was Won – The Canadian Way
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How The West Was Won – The Canadian Way

Hail Brave hearts

Come and explore with me.  Come  into the adventure of your lives.  There’s no time to waste, the days are passing.  Make a plan, make several plans.  Learn and strive, push your limits.  Take the time to prepare.  Healthy food, proper clothing, skills, companions, strong bodies and strong minds.  Into the unknown, you travel.

A sketchy route has been marked on a page. Lines and drawings, hopefully familiar.  A post is the site marker, a mountain range on the left, stay on the river and follow the trail.  Animal tracks cover the ground.  The new fallen snow is heavy and trail breaking is hard.  Persevere, for today’s travel distance is long.  Fortunately the terrain is gentle,  rolling uphill but not too difficult to climb.  Somewhere out here is a cabin for us.  We can rest in shelter and escape the wind and the cold, then push on.  It’s a better trip than it used to be, before the route through the country was found, before the explorers and before the map makers.  Now we have a plan to follow.  The bleak, cold winter closes in, but we chose this life.  We are  homesteaders, looking for our land.

Land!  There’s plenty of land!  But ours is still a long way off and we persist in our travel.  A trading post is lurking close by.  Stay on the trail and follow it closely.  We need supplies.  Supplies and a place to rest, some warmth and some shelter, food and a hot drink.  We chose this life.  Come on.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Edmonton_Park

Come on, brave hearts, a new life is calling.  The freedom it brings will be worth all of the pain.  The hardship, the struggle, the will to survive.  Keep at it.  Don’t stop.  The winter is a good time for travel.  As cold as it is, the path is easier, travel along the rivers and frozen lakes.  It’s relatively flat and easier to see, it’s cold, but faster and we cover more land.

What is now just sport is survival to us.  The dogs must run and we are grateful.  Fast and steady they hurry along.  The dog team runs and they seem to know the way.  Skills and training, education, courses, work and labor to learn these skills.  All to become homesteaders in a land offering freedom, survival, a chance to choose for ourselves and a chance to be autonomous.  But it’s work and we have now traveled so far.  Out to the west to settle these lands.  Push on, push on, the day if fading.  Run you fabulous dogs!  Take us away to our world awaiting.  To trading posts and teepees, to waterways and farmland.  Take us to our destiny, our hearts are soaring.  The cold winters wind, howls beside us, but go on.  On to our home, to farming and prosperity.  Come on, you good dogs, run forever, transport us across Canada, open the way and save us again.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

March 19, 2018

dog sledding competition in Russia.  What was used hundreds of years ago to open up Canada is now international sport.

Winter Horse Races
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Winter Horse Races

Hail Brave hearts

Enjoy the best, the wilds of winter put us to the test.  It’s dog sledding and snow shoes, skis and skates.  It’s winter camping and bonfires, with marshmallows and  hot chocolate.  It’s fireside in the cabin, cozy and warm, it’s darkness and quiet and wild winter storms.  The winter, at it’s best is the season of chill, with ice, frost, snow and wild winter storms to combat.  The fireside beckons, it calls us to be warm, come into this fine cabin to avoid the winter’s storm.  The cold winter’s icy blast, it makes our hearts sing, to have another snowfall, we’re blessed with these fun things.

Another invention, of horses and riders, take us back to our history of early colonial times.  A Quebec invention, horses, they say, becomes a competition of horse races in the winter.  Ride, you awesome champions, skilled and daring, mount your fine steeds for a flight along the icy river.  A unique experience in horsemanship and breeding, the new stock of racehorse was a special adaptation that kept it’s footing on the ice of the river.  A gaming day, to enjoy the sport, pull up your chair in minus temperatures and spend the day outside enjoying the show.

It’s early colonial times in Quebec, but this is Canada, after all.  Making the most of what life gives us, chilly cold, snow, ice and fun and the adventure of it all.

To be in a colony, so far away, from a homeland so remote, it lives in yesterday.  The future is dependent on the survival skills of all, fight off the loneliness, the questions, the gloom of despair.  Come out of your lodging, bring your chair.  Have fun in the winter, dress warmly and with layers.  Come out and enjoy this, we love it this way, with horses and snow and ice and sleigh.  Come sing, with high spirits, chase off the dark.  Enjoy this day of racing, gaming, and fun in the winter.

http://www.walkerswest.com/History/CanadianPacer.htm

The cold, the isolation, the small numbers of people, but tireless energy and determination to survive, to win at the odds of feeling cast aside.  Gather together, all you peoples, in community and spirit, chase away the dangers of illness and fear.  The numbers are still small, but we’re getting used to our lives, of hardship, deprivation, thrift and careful counting.  Make sure your larder will last until the next harvest.

Inventions are a must,  stretch your minds.  Think of something new, to make us better people.  We’re changing out here in a colony so rustic.  We’re becoming a people of our own.

Don’t look back, look forward, prepare and plan.  Become the genius we all know you can.  Invent the horse, play games anyway, invent your recipes, plan your stay.  The colony is forever, we can’t give it up, so make the most of it, live well, drink from this cup.  It’s a warm winter’s day, time for some fun, head off to the river to enjoy the race.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

February 21, 2018

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The Horse Drawn Sleigh

Hail brave hearts

From long ago, in our glorious past, a sled was born, to slide the winter blues away.  No more trudging through the snow, the sleigh gave birth to a new kind of day.  Winter wonderland once more, the land was conquered by man and animal.  Teams of horses, teams of dogs, led the way across the snow.  The brilliant, glittery, fluffy stuff is part of our fun filled days.  Oh for a ride on a horse, but instead an open sleigh.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sled

A team of powerful animals, groomed and trained in draft, quickly become our glorious present, from an inspiring past.  The sleigh will take you places that you always want to go.  Mostly over hill and dale and always through the snow.  This romantic lifestyle beacons to us, come to join the ride.  A wagon in the summer, in winter  a sleigh to rush and glide.  The winter is upon us, a favorite of seasons no doubt.  Along the windy, snowy path, the horses and the sled pull out.  The jingle of the bells, their harness is gleaming with polish.  We hear their music in the air and smile and run to the road.  A wave at the passing sleigh, filled with tourists delighting their day.  A pleasant reminder of days gone by, when horse and sleigh were the mode of transportation.   Now in the eve of wintertime, when the solstice quietly passes.  The winter is here already, get out and join the masses.

 

 

 written by Dr. Louise Hayes
December 22, 2017
A Man’s Best Friend
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A Man’s Best Friend

Hail brave hearts.

Your company is here!  Fast and furry, friendly and happy, this is your very best friend.  Your dog is your companion for life.  Easy to care for, easy to please, all they want is a warm home, to be fed, and to be included in all of your life.  We have nurtured the companionship of dogs for a long, long time.

A trainable friend, a fiercely loyal companion, a lovable pet, your dog is a strongly supportive part of your life and your family.  Train him to do whatever he can, fetch a ball, play with sticks, swim in the lake, take a walk, guard the premises, guard you, pull your sleigh, be your business, own the  company, take him wherever you can.  This is not just a pet, this is a big part of the family.  This is the pet that can be your eyes, alert you to danger, pull you to safety.  This is the pet that can be trained to be a working dog, taking care of the disabled, protecting the property, protecting the people.  This is the pet that lives for you, you are all of his life and it can be a wonderfully fulfilling time of mutual companionship.  Take the dog for a walk, to play in the park, to stroll down the street, to meet your friends.  This is an important part of his day.  A little fresh air, some exercise, the walk will do  both of you some good.

Dogs are with us in history, helping us to build a nation.  Sled dogs carrying people and supplies, opening trade and transportation routes, bringing people together in a sparsely populated country, where no roads had gone before.  Great explorers like David Thompson, used the sled dog to carry him across the country,  adventuring and exploring along the way.

 

 

Train the dog to be a part of a team, pulling the sled, running for joy.  Most dogs welcome the activity of a good run and the dog team is a companion sport, dogs and humans in the cold winter time, speeding across the countryside together in a sleigh.  It’s an age old sport of Canadian history.  Run the dog team to an adventure, to exploration, to connect to one another.  It’s an unusual and clever idea, to hitch a dog to the sleigh, run him over to the neighbors farm, over hill and over dale, running through the snow.  The fast, light dogs enjoy this too.  They can run for hours through the snow.  Winter coats and hats, boots and pants, pull on your warm attire.  The season of winter fun is here.

This is a sport that you might want to try, just to experience the historical culture of the nation.  Imagine being the master of a dog team, sliding along in the wintry chill, sled piled high with trading goods, to sell at your next stop.  How far will it be today?  20 kilometers only, or maybe an all day stint, rushing through the forest, sliding across the lake, the trade routes are open, come out all of you, to experience the skills  that a life like this  would take.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

December 17, 2017